Batman Drabbles
by Mako1
Summary: A series of shorts, I've written for the livejournal community Comment Fic...these are the ones that didn't blow up into full length stories.  Rating due to the very first one.
1. Chapter 1

The person who killed Batman is utterly destroyed by the Joker.

Bane lay writhing on the floor of the filthy warehouse in agony. The shot had nearly severed his leg off at the knee. The ghost faced clown was pacing about and rambling. Every once in a while the Joker would point the elephant gun at Bane and cock the trigger, then reconsider. The Joker needed Bane to know how serious his crime had been. The Joker felt that no one but him was entitled to ending the Batman. Bane had beaten him to it, by slapping Batman away and snapping his neck in the process. That had been three days ago.

"Bane, Bane, Bane-y, Bane…why'd you do it?" the Joker asked. The question was rhetorical. "I mean if you really want to bump one of those flying rodents off, why not get one of the kids?" the Joker paused and took a shot at Bane's other knee. The scream of agony echoed through the deserted warehouse. "Believe me; because I know this one…killing one of the kids is a blast! Especially if old zombie boy Ra's al Ghul brings them back. You get the chance to kill them again!"

Bane reached for the button that would inject his system with Venom, but the Joker shot him through the wrist, destroying the Venom supply and completely removing his hand. "Was that the one you back handed Bats with?" the Joker asked in all seriousness. "Or did you snap his neck with that one?" The shot missed and hit Bane in his bicep, tearing a good chunk of muscle away. The recoil had sent the Joker falling backwards. He lay cackling on the floor for a minute before sitting up and taking aim again. The rifle clicked but no shot came. "Darn, out of ammo. I knew I should have swiped the whole box."

The Joker tossed the elephant gun aside and got to his feet. He wandered over to a duffel bag lying nearby and pulled out a heavy duty syringe. Filling it with hydrochloric acid, he wandered over to where Bane lay prone on the floor. The Joker stood over him and considered the shattered knee nearest him. "You know, that could get infected in a dump like this," he said and raised the bottle of acid up to pour some into the wound. Bane nearly bit his tongue off when he clenched his teeth at the pain that shot through him.

"Bats made me, you see?" the Joker was saying. "We made each other actually, come to think of it." As he spoke, the Joker walked around Bane, just out of reach and considered his victim. "It was my job to un-make old Batsy," he stated, crouching down near Bane's head. He took a hold of the tube that fed Venom directly to Bane's brain and held it up. Taking the syringe he shoved it into the tube and emptied the acid into it. The Joker crouched down so that he was just inches from Bane's ear. "You destroyed my reason for being, so I am going to destroy you," he murmured darkly. It was the last thing Bane heard as the acid began to eat away his brain. Not satisfied with how slow the acid was working, the Joker ripped the tube from the back of Bane's head and emptied the bottle of acid directly into his skull.

"I was wondering if that would happen?" the Joker chimed as he stood back and watched as the acid began eating through Bane's eyes. He sighed and looked over at the duffel on the floor. His purpose in life was gone, he felt. The dead Robin might have come back and all but the Joker felt that Ra's wasn't going to attempt to resurrect Batman. "Well I always wanted to go out with a bang," the Joker said in a sing song voice. Picking up the duffel he took it over to where Bane's corpse was. The acid had reduced his head to a puddle of greyish muck. "And to think Baney ol' chap, you get to go boom with me!" he exclaimed, removing a detonation device from his coat pocket and depressing the button. The force of the blast was felt several blocks away.

_A/n: I swear! I'm a nice person in real life! The Joker just tends to bring out the crazy in people. =)_


	2. Family Dinner

Family Dinner.

Alfred Pennyworth had dreamed of this day for a seeming eternity. The day when all of his family would be seated around the table, enjoying a simple Sunday dinner. The leg of lamb had been flown in from New Zealand and seasoned with salt and pepper before being expertly roasted on the rotisserie. Bruce sat at one end of the table and him at the other. The children, all five of them, were seated across from each other. Alfred had hoped that they would remember their manners, but to his disappointment, it was the eldest child that had started it. Tim had moaned and closed his eyes in pleasure as he savoured his first bite.

"Hey Tim?" Dick smirked. Tim cracked an eye open in response. "Your Welsh is showing," Dick laughed. At least Tim had swallowed before replying to the joke.

"Bite me," he growled.

"Timmy's Welsh?" Jason asked incredulously. Dick chuckled and nodded. Jason put his hands together in prayer and looked towards the ceiling. "Thank you God. Thank you for noticing that I've been a good boy lately." Tim glared as he shoved a second forkful of lamb in his mouth. Jason waited and was rewarded for his patience when Tim caved to the delicious flavour.

"Don't even say it," Bruce interrupted when he saw Jason's grin. "Damian's only twelve."

"Tt," Damian snorted. He reached up to his mouth and bit a piece of lamb off and dropped it to the floor. A dark grey cat purred in delight at the morsel from his master.

"Master Damian, please refrain from throwing food onto the carpet," Alfred scolded.

"Sekhmet likes lamb," Damian replied. "And you didn't give him enough obviously, or he wouldn't be begging me for more."

Taking advantage of the distraction, Jason smirked at Tim across the table. "Baa," he mimicked and both he and Dick howled in laughter. Bruce fought the smirk that wanted to come.

"Enjoy your last meal, jerk, because I will kill you," Tim vowed. "Both of you." Cassandra looked between Tim and the two across the table in confusion. Jason saw this and grinned largely.

"I'll tell you all about the Welsh obsession with sheep on patrol later," he told her.

"I would prefer that you don't Master Jason," Alfred muttered darkly.

Cassandra glanced at him and then back to Jason. A small smile turned the corner of her lips. "I look forward to it," she said, taking a bite of dinner.

"Don't get your hopes up," Tim snorted next to her. "He won't be alive to go on patrol tonight."

"I thought there was a 'no death threats at the table' rule," Bruce chimed in. Tim glared at Damian seated between Dick and Jason.

"Gee, I wonder how that rule came about," he muttered.

"I'm biding my time," Damian glared right back as he handed another piece of lamb to his cat.

Alfred sighed as Jason and Dick happened to glance at each other at the same time. They both dissolved into laughter as Tim glared at them, muttering dark promises of vengeance. Despite being told again to not feed Sekhmet table scraps, Damian continued to do so until the cat had been sated. Cassandra had decided that she didn't want to wait until patrol to find out what Dick and Jason found so hilarious about Tim's ethnic background and sheep. At least Bruce had put his foot down about that one. All the elderly butler had wanted was a simple dinner with his family. At least the children weren't using the utensils as deadly projectiles against each other.


	3. Widows

It had rained on their wedding day. Tam thought of the sudden summer downpour that had come out of nowhere just as she and Tim were leaving the church as newlyweds. Rain on your wedding day was supposed to be a good thing, she'd heard. Whoever had fed her that line had lied. She was twenty eight years old and now a widow. The Joker had decided that for a good laugh, he'd blow up the Mid Town Bridge at the height of rush hour. Tim had been stopped in traffic immediately above where the bomb went off. He never knew what hit him.

It had rained earlier in the day. Damian stood by her side, holding an umbrella over the pair of them as Tim's coffin was lowered into the ground. The youngest Wayne had escaped his elder brother's fate by mere chance. He had been running late at school and told Tim to go on without him. Tam reached for Damian's hand as the first shovel of earth was dropped into the grave. Damian felt guilty that he hadn't made Tim wait for him. Damian shook his head in wonder that she was trying to comfort him. She was the one who had just lost her husband.

It was raining late at night as Tam stood on the balcony and looked out over the city she was beginning to hate. She heard someone land on the balcony behind her but didn't react. It was Jason. He told her that she probably shouldn't be out in the rain at night like this. She ignored him. Jason placed a gentle hand on her shoulder as he told her the other news he had. Tim's killer was also dead. Tam looked over her shoulder at him and waited to see if he'd say anything else. Jason paused before admitting that he was the one to end the nightmarish clown's reign of terror. Tam uttered the word 'thanks' to him and returned her gaze to city skyline. Jason left her to her thoughts.

It was raining when Tam clenched her teeth and pushed. She felt the pop and fell back in relief. The doctor was attending to her newborn son while her head fell to the side and looked out the window. A little while later she had company in the form of her family, all coming to meet the newest addition to their family. Tam discovered a week after Tim's funeral that she was expecting their only child. She'd told the ultra sound tech that she didn't want to know the gender of her baby. She wanted to be surprised. Dick was the one that asked what the boy's name was. She replied with Teejay, a variation on naming him for his late father. Dick cradled his new nephew to him and closed his eyes. Tears slid down his cheeks as he promised to teach Teejay everything he'd taught Tim. Much to Tam's chagrin, that promise did include defying gravity.

It was raining when Teejay learned from his mother why he didn't have a father. His Aunt Cass had been there with him when he'd asked about Tim. Cass told him about his father and how generous and giving he was. Traits that she could see in him. Tam smiled at that. She had noticed that Teejay was always sharing his toys with the other kids in pre-school. He'd offer help if anyone needed and his teachers gushed about what a wonderful and thoughtful child he was. Teejay wandered off to read leaving his mother and aunt to talk in peace. Cass vowed that when the boy was older she would give him a book that Tim had given her. Tam thanked her for the offer and said that she looked forward to it. Teejay treasured the book when Cass gifted it to him a few years later.

The sun was shining when Teejay graduated college with honours. Along with Tim's generosity, he'd inherited his father's intelligence. Tam glanced to her side and saw Bruce smiling with deep pride as Teejay gave his valedictorian speech. Bruce had told her the night Tim died that he would protect her and that promise was extended to Teejay the day he was born. Tam wanted for nothing as Bruce had given her, her choice of positions within Wayne Enterprises. Teejay had been offered full scholarships by several schools and had accepted Oxford's offer. Bruce had set him up in a flat near school and granted him access to his private planes whenever Teejay wanted come home and visit. After the ceremony, Teejay sought his family out and swept his mother into a bear hug. Tam laughed as he set her down and he turned to face Bruce. Bruce felt the sting of tears as he gazed into Teejay's pale blue eyes. 

"Tim would be very proud of the man you've become."


	4. Daily Grind

Daily Grind

"Plan A, or plan B?" Tam asked as they rode the elevator down to the floor where the conference rooms were.

"Plan A," Tim replied. "It's the board, so as far as they're concerned, I have no right to even be touching this stuff."

"Your fault for being too smart and dropping out," Tam teased. Tim glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. 

"If I had to endure another day of high school…something bad would have happened."

"Molotov cocktail through the front office?" Tam snickered.

"I was thinking more along the lines of twenty pounds of C-4 strategically placed around the campus," Tim smirked. Tam howled in laughter. "Spiced up with some semtex," he added. 

"For that special touch," Tam giggled. Tim leaned against the elevator wall and mimicked a large explosion with his hands. The pair of them howled in laughter. "Oh god, we're almost there," Tam gasped. "Can't let the board see that we're actually happy." The elevator stopped at their floor and Tam held the button for a moment to give the two of them some time to recover from their amusement. Composed, Tam pushed the button to open the doors and they headed towards their meeting with the board of directors.

Tam held the door for Tim so he could hobble in on his crutches, before following him in and taking a seat to his left. The board members hadn't all arrived yet, so they sat quietly and waited for a few minutes. The missing members arrived and Tim started the meeting. 'Plan A' was the one where he talked for a few minutes before handing it over to Tam to finish the rest of the meeting. She had a knack for telling the board exactly what they wanted to hear. 'Plan B' was reserved for when Tim needed to sway people his way, so Tam would start things off and he would verbally throw the dictionary at them as he made his points.

"Thank you Ms Fox," one of the board said, as she ended her part. "I can see that Neon Knights is in good hands, so continue on with what you're doing. " Tam nodded her thanks and she and Tim waited as they cleared out of the meeting room.

Tim leaned back in his seat and listened for a moment, while Tam leaned her chin on her hand, watching him. Tim heard the elevator close and smirked. Holding his hands up, he mimicked an explosion again. "Boom!" Thankfully no one was outside the room to hear the pair of them screaming in laughter for a full ten minutes.


	5. Green Lantern Tim Drake

Green Lantern, Tim Drake.

_A/N: The prompt was as follows; DCU, Tim Drake & Any, Tim became a Green Lantern, not Robin. This is an AU obviously._

He stared at the ring in his hand. He knew what it was, he'd seen the man on television gifted with a similar ring, but he'd gone mad. The tiny blue alien before him watched with interest as the gears turned in his mind. He'd chosen the boy because of his vast intelligence, and fearless nature. The other humans who had received their rings from the Guardians had all been surprised. Timothy Drake had been calculating and not the slightest bit surprised by the gift. The last human, Kyle Rayner had let the power get the best of him. Ganthet had hoped that an artist would be ideal to wield the power of the Green Lanterns, but he'd misjudged the passion of emotion. That much sheer creativity coupled with the raw emotion of losing a loved one, had been the artist's undoing. Los Angeles lay in ruin. Kyle had ravaged the city in an effort to avenge the accidental death of his parents. Ganthet hoped that the keen intelligence standing before him could contain the monster the Guardians of Oa had created.

Tim slid the ring onto his finger and closed his eyes. Oxygen generation, radiation shielding, a barrier against micro meteorites, Ganthet watched as a faint green shield formed around the teenager. Tim opened his eyes and looked down to his benefactor.

"What makes you think I can do this, where the guy out west failed?" he asked. Ganthet nodded.

"I've looked into your heart Timothy," Ganthet replied. "And I know that you have endured tragedy." Tim cocked an eyebrow. So they knew of his mother's brutal murder. "I also know that you aren't thinking of revenge," Ganthet added.

Tim smiled softly. "We have Batman in Gotham and he caught the bastard that killed my Mom for drug money." Ganthet nodded once in acknowledgement. "You'll forgive me an indulgence?" Tim asked suddenly. He smirked when he saw that he'd managed to perplex the seemingly unflappable Guardian.

"An indulgence?" Ganthet asked.

"I'm human, it's a character flaw of my species," he shrugged. Before Ganthet could ask, Tim rocketed skyward. Ganthet narrowed his eyes and followed. He found Tim in orbit, halfway between the Earth and its moon. Ganthet frowned as Tim studied his home world below.

"Your indulgence is to look at your planet?" he huffed, but Tim shook his head.

"My indulgence was to give myself a reality check," he murmured softly.

Ganthet narrowed his gaze at Tim and blinked in surprise a moment later. The first thing the boy had wanted to do with the ring was to remind himself that his kind and his planet were not unique in the universe. He had needed to establish in his mind that a little further out in his native solar system, the planet below was barely a speck of blue light against the black of the universe. Timothy Drake, Ganthet mused, was grounding himself in an effort to not let the power of the ring get the better of him.

"Tell me about the one out west in L.A.," Tim asked. Ganthet smiled softly. They'd made the right choice this time.


	6. College

College.

_A/N: Okay, this is more Teen Titans than Batman, but it still has Tim in it!_

Conner Kent's head was on the desk and he was muttering about the assignment he had been given for the weekend. School was almost over, he kept telling himself. Two more months of torture and he'd never have to set foot in Smallville High School ever again. He heard footsteps and rolled his head to the side to see his three best friends in the world. "Tim-may," he said, grinning at the scowl that immediately darkened Tim's face.

"I swear to god Kon," Tim vowed. "Call my name, ala South Park again and you're dead."

Conner couldn't resist. "Tim-may…"

"I have a piece of kryptonite with your name on it, bastard," Tim growled low as he flopped onto the sofa nearby.

Bart glanced at Cassie and laughed. "Relax, Cass, it's how they 'I love you'."

"I know it is," she replied, still shaking her head. Conner and Tim both gaped at the two of them as they took seats at the table with Conner. "Is that for school?" she asked when she spotted the papers he'd been resting his head on.

"Unfortunately," he muttered. "Some stupid crap we have to turn in Monday morning…I swear, I'd rather swallow a bullet." He suddenly sat up and glanced over at Tim hopefully. "You got that kryptonite on you?"

Bart leaned across the table to take a better look at the assignment. "Oh god," he groaned. "What I want out of college and my goals for achieving it?" Cassie and Tim winced in pity as Bart made a sour face. "When did essays get so…inane?" Bart asked, shaking his head.

"When Bush initiated 'no child left behind'," Tim snorted.

"Alright you two, stop it," Cassie chided.

"They so have a point," Conner muttered, glaring at the assignment paper. "Besides, how the hell would any of us even fit college in?"

"Not to mention the whole super hero ID thing," Bart added. "Cassie's the only one of us that's public."

"We could always apply to the same school and rent our own place," Cassie suggested.

Conner, Bart, and Tim laughed. "Oh God, could you see the four of us in the same school and house?" Tim asked.

"A super hero frat house," Conner murmured approvingly.

"I'm starting to like this idea," Bart added with a grin. Cassie thought about it for a moment before her face fell. The boys never noticed as they continued to day dream about the potential of living together in college.

"I could make a fortune writing people's papers," Bart laughed. 

"And we could make a fortune off of you at parties," Conner smirked. Tim groaned.

"Someone could end up in a coma, if you're thinking what I think you're thinking," he said.

"Just because my metabolism would let me drink the entire football team under the table," Bart snorted. "Besides, doesn't that Kryptonian thing work in a similar manner?"

"I…don't know actually," Conner admitted. "I could always ask Clark," he snorted.

"I can just see that," Tim howled in laughter. "Hey Superman? You ever use the Kryptonian powers to out-booze everyone while you were in college?" Bart leaned back in his seat laughing.

"Yeah right, like he ever would admit it," Bart chuckled.

"I think it's safe to say that he never did," Conner admitted sadly.

"We can't," Cassie suddenly blurted out. As the boys had been talking, her daydreams had wandered into the realm of every bad college comedy movie ever made.

"Why not?" Bart and Tim asked.

"It was your idea," Conner reminded her.

"I know, I know," she replied, holding up her hands. "But thinking about it a bit…it just wouldn't work." Unfortunately for Cassandra Sandsmark, the three young men sitting in the lounge with her knew her too well. They shared a devious look and returned their gaze to her. "I mean where would we find the time?" she asked. "And you said it Bart, the whole secret ID thing would be in jeopardy."

"We'll manage," Tim smirked, casting a quick glance at the other two and raising his eyebrows briefly.

"Yeah we could always crash other parties," Conner suggested. "We don't need to have them ourselves…though that would rock."

Cassie was resting her forehead in her hand so she never saw the nod Tim gave Bart. "Toga!" he yelled.

"Oh Gods," Cassie groaned as the three of them started chanting 'toga, toga, toga!' Cassie rose to her feet and covered her ears, all the while wincing as the three boys continued their chant. "I hate you guys," she muttered before flying off. The three of them stopped and howled in laughter.

"You know that's exactly what she was thinking," Conner laughed. Bart had been laughing so hard he ended up doubled over in a coughing fit.

"Oh my god," he moaned. "We need to torture her all weekend."

"All those in favour?" Tim snorted. Three hands shot up into the air.

Later that evening, Raven and Gar looked up when they heard Cassie bellowing at the top of her lungs. "Would you jerks shut the hell up already?"

"What the hell?" Gar asked, perplexed.

"I believe they were discussing the merits of going to college together," Raven replied, a slight smile on her face.


	7. Antiziganism

Antiziganism 

The murder of a teenage girl had brought the three of them to the rooftop that night. Bruce Wayne was out of town and had entrusted his city to three of his sons. Batman, Red Robin, and Robin had heard rumblings about the victim's ties to a group of Roma passing through town. Below them was an empty lot being used as a squatter camp by the group as they passed through Gotham. Dick, Tim, and Damian immediately noticed that the camp was on its guard.

"You think the killer is one of them?" Damian asked, as he counted the guards he could see.

"No. I don't." Dick replied. "The victim was one of them."

"Well true, they usually resort to petty thievery…" Tim's eyes bulged in shock as Damian continued. Dick's gaze remained focused on the squalid camp. "…that they would resort to murder?" Damian concluded.

"You think all Roma are petty crooks Robin?" Batman growled.

"I wouldn't trust any of them," Damian replied, angered at his mentor's question.

"Then why do you trust me?" With that, Batman glided from the rooftop down into the camp.

Damian felt Tim's hand on his shoulder and turned to see the sad visage on Tim's face. "I take it Ra's and Talia think poorly of the Romani," Tim asked. Before Damian could reply, he continued. "Dick's family fled Europe in the 1920's to avoid the rise in anti-Romani sentiment after WWI. They must have guessed at what was coming."

"Coming?" Damian stammered, still in shock that he had so blatantly insulted Dick.

"The _porajmos_. It's the Romani term for the Nazi's Final Solution, as it was applied to them. It means The Devouring. If his family hadn't fled when they did, Dick might not have ever been born."

"I didn't…"

"Basic rule of thumb. No matter who they are, what they are. If people need us, we help them," and with that Tim shot out a line and joined Dick in the camp.

Guilt tore at Damian as he thought about what had just transpired. He thought that he'd wiped away all the influence his mother and grandfather had had on him, but obviously he hadn't. Below, he could see Dick talking with the leader of the small group and the ease in which he did it. Damian considered heading back to the tower and immediately felt disgusted with himself. Running away wouldn't make amends for his egregious blunder. He joined his brothers in the camp and listened as the leader explained how the girl had been sent to do some food shopping when she disappeared.

Two days later they had caught the killer. A petty crook that had hoped to rob the girl of her money and instead killed her when she fought back. After retiring for the night back at Wayne Tower, Damian tentatively sought out his eldest brother to apologise. "Tell me about your people," he asked softly. Dick sighed and ruffled Damian's hair as he began telling the boy about his past.


	8. War

War

_A/N: The prompt was ridiculously long, but was in short about, a paintball war and Tim suffers…a lot._

"Okay," Jason grinned. "Teams are Blue, which will be Dick and Cass, because she's the only one who can really keep up with him if he goes aerial." Cassandra Cain glanced up at Grayson and smirked. "I've called Red and Blondie here," Jason added. Steph rolled her eyes before loading her gun with the red balls. "Team Yellow is Timmy and the midget. And team Green are the Arrow boys playing sniper," Jason finished.

"One rule," Dick piped up when he saw Damian aim his gun at Tim's back.

"Dude seriously? Fair play?" Jason snorted.

"Unless you want Damian to win by a landslide," Dick smirked, jerking his thumb at the youngest player. "Shots from your own colour don't count."

They all glanced at Damian, while Tim muttered under his breath. "Good point." Jason conceded.

"I take it 'sniper' means we get to wear camouflage?" Roy asked, digging around his bag.

"Definitely," Jason smirked.

"Told ya," Roy smirked and tossed a change of clothes to Connor. Connor Hawke just chuckled as he doffed his shirt for the one Roy had tossed to him. They had fifteen minutes to find starting points and then the war was on.

"Team exercise my ass," Tim growled under his breath as he and Damian ran through the woods to find a spot to start the game from. 

"Still whining Drake?" Damian snorted.

"Yes I am, deal with it."

"Fortunately for you, Grayson won't count the yellow hits. Or I'd waste my ammunition on you right now," the youngest Wayne sniped.

"Jason's a sadistic bastard," Tim snorted, knowing full well Jason had planned the game to inflict maximum pain and damage on him. "There's a good spot," he added, spying a depression in the hillside.

"I don't think so. But then he doesn't nearly loath my very existence as much as he does yours," Damian retorted as he scrambled up the hillside into the spot Tim had found. Damian kept watch while Tim hastily made two false blinds nearby. Occasionally he would site Tim down the barrel of his gun and consider taking a cheap shot. Temple, chest over his heart, back of the skull, ultimately he didn't fire in the event he gave their position away, but the temptation was great. Besides the shots wouldn't count and Tim was finished with the fake blinds. "Think those will fool them?" he asked, when Tim joined him in the depression.

"Unless Dick and Cass have taken to the trees, it should…long enough to spot anyone firing at them at least," Tim replied. "Sst!" Tim suddenly warned, hearing a single shot nearby. 

"An Arrow?" Damian whispered as he scanned the foliage for any sign of a shooter.

"Doubt it," Tim replied. "Could either be Cass or Jase trying to flush out someone by pretending to be an Arrow." Tim watched the two false blinds as Damian continued to look for anyone heading their way. A second lone shot fired and Tim saw a splatter of red at the base of one of the blinds. "Shit," he swore under his breath. "Jason and Steph, they found the fake blinds," he warned Damian.

"I'm smaller and we could spot them better from the top of the hill," Damian suggested, getting ready to slither out of their hiding place.

"And show them exactly where I am, guess again," Tim snarled.

A third single shot rang out, this time followed by copious amounts of swearing. "You gotta be fucking kidding me!" Jason hollered.

Tim pointed in the direction of Jason's voice and he and Damian moved to finish him off. A barrage of fire echoed through the woods this time, and it was Tim's turn to swear up a storm. Damian grinned as he crouched nearby and watched his partner get sprayed in red paint from two sides. He spied Jason and the single red splotch of paint near his knee and shrugged. Damian held up his gun and laid down a spray of yellow paint hitting Stephanie, Jason, and Tim as he did so. Tim had had it, and turned his gun on Damian and let loose with a barrage of his own fire, covering Damian in yellow paint.

"You weren't kidding Grayson," Roy stated, handing his flask to his old teammate. "They hate each other."

"Told ya," Dick smirked, taking a swig of water from the flask. "Want to add to the misery?"

Connor Hawke just leaned back against a tree as Cass, Dick, and Roy fired into the melee below them.


	9. Cuddled

Cuddled

Cassandra Sandsmark tapped a finger impatiently against the arm of the plush chair. She hoped that whatever had hit the boys would wear off, and soon. It wasn't like they were still small. The three of them were almost fully grown men and there was only so much of her to go around.

"So tell me again…what happened?" she sighed as the three of them shifted to get more cosy. 

"Poison Ivy," Tim murmured, resting his head on her left shoulder. "She hit us with some pollen stuff." 

"And then laughed and said something about how she hopes you're patient," Bart added, leaning on her right side and holding her tight. 

"Or we'd be dog meat," Kon added, resting his head in her lap and tracing a finger along her calf. 

"Bart, I hate to tell you this, but you are all bones…and they're digging into me something fierce," Cassie complained. 

"Sorry," the speedster muttered and shifted again until he was comfortable once more. 

"Not helping," Cassie snorted. Bart's hip was now digging into her ribcage. "How long is this supposed to last?" she asked Tim. 

He shrugged and Cassie bit her lip. Bart wasn't the only bony one of the three of them. "Probably six hours or so." 

"Great," Cassie replied, blowing air through her pursed lips. "Six hours of you three in cuddle mode from hell." 

"We can always move this to the bedroom," Kon suggested. 

"Ha ha, guess again," she said, smacking his head. 

"I guess you're stuck with us here in this arm chair then," Bart shrugged. Cassie tried to elbow him but missed. 

"Remind me to strangle Ivy with one of her vines the next time I see her," Cassie growled. She backhanded Tim across the back of his head causing him to mutter 'ow' under his breath. "And that's for inviting us to Gotham in the first place," she added.


	10. The Show Must Go On

The Show Must Go On

_A/N: My Queen loving soul soared in joy when the prompt was one of my favourite songs. I've always thought of that song as Dick Grayson's personal anthem._

He'd proven to Batman that he was ready. Ready to fly through the night gloom and tackle the filth that littered the streets after the sun set. He wanted nothing more than to clean up the filth that had robbed him of his family. By taking on the Robin mantle, he was using what they had given him, and one day, he hoped, he would avenge his parents.

They heard a scream nearby and he grinned. Batman would surely lecture him later about unnecessary risks. Robin didn't care. Gravity was over rated anyway. Batman swung out from the grappling line he'd shot and headed towards the desperate sounds of a woman being assaulted. Robin raised his arms and fell forward. Free fall took hold and Robin felt his soul soar. He'd plummeted past Batman before shooting out his own grappling line and swinging towards the alley.

Robin's feet hit the second story roof of a building and he immediately jumped off it towards the opposite wall. Feet hit, spring forward, double roll, another impact with brick and one last leap and double roll. Robin's feet connected with the thug's back and sent him sprawling across the ground. The woman screamed again, this time in surprise. Robin turned to her and smiled.

"I'm Robin," he grinned. "One of the good guys."


	11. Alive

Alive

_A/N: __I totally nicked the finale of Cowboy Bebop for the gun battle idea in this._

Edgewood had only recently set up shop in Gotham, but he'd quickly made a name for himself as he took over turf from other gangsters. Word had it that Edgewood was planning something big. Bigger than any of the other schemes the gangster had attempted before. When the dust cleared, the rumours claimed, Gotham would never know what hit it. Hell, the world would stare in horrified awe. Bruce Wayne planned on stopping it before it happened. He had his operatives positioned on rooftops surrounding Edgewood's headquarters and when the moment was right, he would give the signal and they would swarm the place.

"Door," Cassandra Cain stated suddenly over the net. Those with a view of the front door to the building looked and saw him. Jason Todd was walking with a purpose towards the mouth of hell, and he was armed to the teeth. Then the explosions began.

"Red Robin with me, the rest of you stand by," Batman ordered.

Bruce and Tim swung down towards the street and had to alter their course, when Edgewood's men began firing at them. The two of them found cover in an alley and raced back towards the roof access they'd been on just moments before. On the nearby rooftops, the remaining members of the Bat clan took cover as they too were fired upon. Dick wrapped Damian in his arms and protected the boy with his body. Shattered bits of concrete rained down on the two through the bullet storm. Cass and Stephanie had both dived for cover behind the roof access. Stephanie shouted over the net to Oracle to provide them with any intel about what was happening below. Oracle did the best she could as she high jacked security feeds from surrounding buildings.

Inside the building, Jason could see that some of the gunmen were focused on targets outside. "I don't fucking think so," he muttered, spraying the men with bullets from his MP5. "I might need them later," he smirked beneath his mask. He was running for the elevator and could hear the running footsteps of a dozen men. Stopping long enough to plant a C-4 charge on the wall, he took off again and took cover near the elevator bank. He glanced from his hiding spot long enough to see that the men coming after him were in range of the C-4 and detonated it. The elevator opened and he dived in, taking cover as bullets rained on his position.

"Blackbat, Batgirl, your side is clear," Oracle called over the net. "Jason took out your shooters." Cass and Stephanie took advantage of their reprieve and swung towards Edgewood's penthouse.

Inside another round of gunfire erupted when Jason got out of the elevator one floor below the penthouse. He grunted as a bullet bit into his left arm and staggered momentarily. Taking aim he fired in the direction the bullet had come from and heard a grunt as his victim hit the floor with a wet splat. He spied the fire stairs and dashed for those. Inside the door to the penthouse, Jason took a deep breath and then kicked the door out. He was firing before the door swung fully open and gunfire was being returned in his direction.

On a neighbouring rooftop, Bruce watched through binoculars in horror. There were half a dozen men protecting Edgewood and they were falling fast. He noticed that the shooters that had been aiming at him and his operatives had moved and were converging on the penthouse. "Move now," he barked and shot out a line. Tim was right behind him. 

"Follow me," Dick ordered Damian and the two raced across the roof. No shots were fired at them so they both launched into the air and swung towards their target. 

"I've taken out…" Jason paused as he tried to think of a number. "A shit load of your guys," he snorted finally. "You're as good as fucking dead." 

"You first," Edgewood bellowed and shot at Jason with two glocks. Jason dived out of the way but was hit in the leg. As he dived he shot back at Edgewood and smirked when he saw the blood erupt from between his eyeballs. 

"Like I said," Jason wheezed, lurching to his feet. "You're late," he muttered after a moment as Bruce and the others converged on the penthouse balcony. 

"Jason!" Bruce exclaimed as the former Robin fell forward. Racing forward he rolled Jason over and cradled him in his arms. "Why?" he murmured, removing Jason's hood. Cass alerted the others to the sounds of footsteps racing towards them from the fire stairs and they took positions of defence. Two dozen henchmen stood little chance against the five bats they squared off against. Bruce placed two fingers at Jason's throat and felt a thready pulse. Satisfied that the others would cover him, he lifted Jason over his shoulder and left to get him medical attention. 

Jason Todd would wake up a week later in a private ward at Gotham General. Doctor Tompkins, satisfied that he wouldn't lash out at the prospect of visitors, allowed Bruce a few minutes with him.

"So I can feel alive," Jason murmured when he saw Bruce. 

"Excuse me?" 

Jason smirked softly. "You asked, why? In the penthouse," he replied. "I risk it all so I can feel alive."


End file.
